If you have visited Austin, most likely you have visited Takoba. If you have lived or you live in Austin and you like soccer you have definitely spend a lot of time at Takoba.
Takoba is one of those restaurants that everybody knows for their deals during Happy Hour and for always streaming soccer games. Soccer fans enjoy their beers during the game, their great appetizers and, why not, a good shot (or two) of Tequila when their team wins.
Last year, Takoba saw a complete transformation, resulting in two different bars under the same direction: Barzon Bar and Takoba. The name, Barzon, comes from what used to be "sidebar" which is similar to the concept Takoba has for it.
And what a transformation! The idea was to keep a casual space and maintain the essence for Barzon, while giving a 360° change to Takoba, creating an ethic restaurant with natural ingredients.
Chef Ruben Giffuni shared with us all the insights about how they want to make Takoba's guests experience a new way of tasting Mexican food, with quality ingredients, striking dishes and the most characteristic flavors from Mexico mixed with his personal touch.
Ruben took us down the memory lane: his career started in Venezuela, where he became a Chef despite his family 's opposition, later he won a culinary scholarship, which sent him to Thailand to cook in a hotel, where he started from the bottom up; peeling potatoes day in and day out, an live with a native family. He then moved to Europe to pursue his most beloved passion, baking. He has spent the last 4 years in the US, first in New York where he was a personal chef for the Brooklyn Nets, and now here in Austin running the kitchen at Takoba.
He decided very early on that he would fight for his dream of becoming a chef and he did, he became an incredibly well-rounded chef capable of taking you from your seat at Takoba to a buzzing upscale restaurant in Mexico.
I was very poor when I was a kid, but everything started when I won a scholarship to go to Thailand. I used to take cooking classes after school and I always tried to be a good student.
His cuisine, as he describes it, is a mix of many different experiences. He has fun in the kitchen, decorating very traditional Mexican flavors with edible flowers, resulting in vibrant textures and astonishing colors on his dishes. He wants to keep his guests engaged not only through their palates but with their eyes.
An explosion! Those are the words I refer to during our interview because they truly impressed me, they were unexpected. Ruben's passion when talking about food, the kind and open conversation, and his welcoming demeanor allowed me to meet a chef who prove that when you want something, no matter how many impediments you find on the journey you will get it. You just need to keep pushing!
Check out his story here! And leave you comments, thank you for following us in this journey
Love,
The Spanish One.
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